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All Blacks given upper hand as Fiji undergo travel hell on way to USA
By Chris Jones
The Flying Fijians squad has reassembled in San Diego for the clash with the All Blacks after nine players had to get their visas in Suva before flying to Los Angeles.
Local media reported the nine who travelled via Fiji were Eroni Mawi, Albert Tuisue, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Sireli Maqala, Meli Derenalagi, Peniasi Dakuwaqa, Viliame Mata, Temo Mayanavanua and Vilimoni Botitu.
The rest of the squad left Georgia on Sunday via Turkey and all of the players are now in San Diego training under head coach Mick Byrne who has pinpointed the set piece as a key area after studying the All Blacks two test series win over England.
Fiji are coming off an impressive 21-12 win in Georgia against a team noted for its forward power. Byrne’s side did not concede a try and a repeat of that tight defence will be vital against the All Blacks.
Byrne told the Fiji Sun: “I thought we did well on our scrum, our line-out and mauling was good against Georgia, so we’ll just continue to grow that. We are working hard with our set-piece and our scrums, making sure that we are committed in that area.
“We just need to make sure that we settle in early in defence to be able to be the physical team that we know we can be. The growth in the Flying Fijians over the last couple of years with the inclusion of the Fijian Drua team has created a more professional depth than what was there originally.
“The depth of the squad has improved to the point where we’ll do our work and focus on ourselves.”
The Flying Fijians will face the All Blacks at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Saturday. The All Blacks won the first Test 16-15 and wrapped up the series with a 24-17 win over England in Auckland despite having considerable problems at the line out.
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Latest Comments
I think this debate is avoiding the elephant in the room. Money. According to the URC chief executive Martin Anayi, the inclusion of SA teams has doubled the income of the URC. There is no doubt that the SA teams benefit from the URC but so do the other countries' teams. Perhaps it doesn't affect a club like Leinster but the less well off clubs benefit hugely from South African games' TV income. I don't think SA continued inclusion in the URC is a slam dunk. They don't hold all the cards by a long way - but they do have an ace in the hole. The Ace of Diamonds.
Go to commentsDon't think you've watched enough. I'll take him over anything I's seen so far. But let's see how the future pans out. I'm quietly confident we have a row of 10's lined uo who would each start in many really good teams.
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